Chapter 6 #2
“Hard to say,” said Sophie. “None who have seen him lived to tell the tale.”
A shiver raced down Charlie’s spine.
“I don’t know…” Lou said. “Shape-shifter or not, it’s hard to believe that a squirrel is capable of taking down two full-grown teenagers.”
“You may choose not to believe me, Louise.” She leveled the group with a hard stare. “But it will be at your own peril.”
“But if Rattatosk is a creature of Asgard,” Abigail asked, “how could he get through the Seal to attack those kids?”
“Another excellent point, gorgeous,” said Linnea, causing Abigail to flush once more. “And our question exactly.”
“We’re hearing about more and more of these incidents every day,” said Sophie.
“We Valkyrie are working overtime to patch up leaks in the Seal, but none of that will matter if we can’t find Gungnir, the Allfather’s spear to which the Seal was originally bound.
We need to rehabilitate the original magic placed on it, or the barrier between our worlds will break down entirely. ”
“You’re looking into the riddle, then?” Charlie asked. “The one I gave you.”
“We are.” Sophie nodded. “Our best scholars are working around-the-clock.”
Charlie exhaled with relief, even as another knot formed in her back.
Her time with Sophie was running out. This was her second visit to Charlie since her “death,” and just like the first, they had spent it talking about the end of the world.
There was so much more that Charlie wanted to say.
She wanted to ask about her life as a Valkyrie.
To tell Sophie how much she missed her, how much she had grieved her loss, how much she loved her still.
She could say those things now, she supposed, but it didn’t feel right. Like trying to force a square brick into a round hole.
“And us?” Charlie asked. “What does Odin want with us?”
“Rattatosk is a powerful creature, but he’s also cursed,” Sophie said. “Bound to serve whoever holds his leash.”
“His leash?” Lou asked. “Like on a dog?”
“Not quite. I’ve never seen Rattatosk’s leash, but they say it’s like a ribbon of shimmering gold. A magical length of rope that Rattatosk’s master keeps always wrapped around his wrist.”
“So Rattatosk can’t act of his own free will?” Charlie asked.
“No,” Sophie said. “And he hates it. He loathes whichever being controls him, but still, he must obey. And the rage he feels at his entrapment makes him all the more dangerous.”
“I’m guessing he doesn’t run messages along Yggdrasil anymore,” Charlie said.
“Not since it was Odin who held his leash,” Sophie said. “His tasks now are far more deadly.”
“Great,” said Charlie. “And I don’t suppose you know who holds his leash?”
“Loki won it off Odin some millennia ago,” said Sophie. “Then Thor held it, then Freyja, and then…” She shook her dark, wild hair. “Then it was lost.”
“That’s what Odin wants us to do,” Charlie said, seeing where her twin was going. “He wants us to find out who is controlling Rattatosk.”
Sophie nodded. “The mare in town is the obvious answer, but he has no golden rope wrapped around his wrist. Still, he could very well be possessing someone who does. Using them to control Rattatosk.”
“We’ll find them,” said Charlie without pause.
Lou looked at Charlie with big eyes. “We will?”
“And just when are we going to do that?” Abigail demanded. “I’m already drowning in homework plus these ridiculous training sessions you have us doing almost every morning. Now I’m supposed to add detective work to the list?”
“You don’t have to help,” Charlie said, “but I’m doing this. I want to. Especially if it will help catch the monster who killed Maddie and Milo.”
“It will,” Sophie said. “And, with any luck, keep him from striking again.”
Her gaze locked onto Charlie’s. For several moments, they just stared at each other.
Unspoken understanding flowed between them, and for a few seconds, Charlie felt as if her sister had truly returned.
As if she’d never left at all, and they were still Charlie and Sophie, the wonder twins, sisters who’d shared the same womb and grown up side by side, knowing what the other was going to say before she even opened her mouth.
Charlie never wanted to look away.
“Fine,” said Abigail, completely unaware of the twin telepathy passing in front of her. “I’ll help. But only because you begged.”
“Literally no one begged,” Lou said. “Not a single person. You just don’t want to admit how bad your FOMO is.”
“I do not have FOMO,” said Abigail. “FOMO is for people who don’t care about what college they get into.”
Lou shut her eyes and let her head loll to one side, snoring loudly.
“So, you’re gorgeous and you’re clearly the valedictorian,” said Linnea, raising a brow suggestively. “Not bad. I myself was valedictorian of my recruit class, so to speak.”
This time, Abigail was prepared for Linnea’s flirty remarks. Instead of blushing, she crossed her arms over her chest and said, “Is that so? I thought the Valkyrie were just Odin’s muscle. All brawn, no brains.”
“Please.” Linnea scoffed. “Our training consists of way more than fighting. We get tested in history, magic, the physics of flying, and more. Just getting chosen to train with the Valkyrie is already a huge honor in and of itself. The Allfather only picks the best of the best. The valedictorians of humankind, so to speak.”
Abigail’s nostrils flared, the stud on the side of her nose glinting under the fluorescent lights. Charlie recognized that spark in her eyes. The hunger. The drive. Linnea had just challenged Abigail, and her best friend wasn’t likely to forget it.
“My time is up,” Sophie said, interrupting Charlie’s thoughts. “Odin requires our return.”
“What for?” Charlie asked.
“I do not ask questions of the Allfather,” said her twin. “I merely do as I’m told.”
“Sounds healthy,” Lou said.
Sophie reached behind herself and pulled out a bundle wrapped in fabric, pushing it into Charlie’s hands. “I brought you these,” she said. “Three more daggers from our armory. For Louise, Abigail, and Mason. It was all I could risk stealing without drawing too much attention to myself.”
“Sophie Hudson.” Lou gasped, laying a hand on her heart. “Did you … did you break the rules for us?”
“I was just as shocked as you are,” Linnea said.
Sophie’s lips twitched. “If you tell anyone, I’ll shred every pair of underwear in your dresser.”
Then, without so much as a wink, she spread her wings and took off, Linnea close behind. They soared out of the skylight, vanishing as suddenly as they’d appeared.